Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Encourages Multiple Playthroughs

New details have surfaced about the design mantras behind Square Enix's recently announced Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns.

An interview in the latest issue of Famitsu, translated by Andriasang, reveals that the game will come with just one ending and that it'll be a happy one.

Despite this, the game is apparently being designed to encourage players to go through and complete it multiple times, and the length of the game will reflect this (i.e. it's not going to take hundreds or even, apparently, tens of hours to complete).

Depending on your actions, the remaining life of the world can also increase and decrease, meaning the world could end before the previously mentioned 13 days. It also appears that each of these in-game days will last between one and two real-world hours.

So it looks like Lightning's adventure is going to be a very different experience to the ones that have come before. Also in the interview it's mentioned that Hope will make an appearance, guiding Lightning by wireless com, and that this entry in the Final Fantasy XIII series will be "World Driven", asking players to consider how they interact with the changing world.

There's no reference to a potential release window, but the game is apparently about 30% complete. Seeing as we heard at the start of August that the game had only recently entered production, it seems the game is making good progress, regardless.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be the final game to feature Lightning and is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and long-time Final Fantasy lover. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Announced

Square Enix has announced Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Set to arrive in 2013, Lightning Returns will incorporate “a brand-new story, world, characters and an enhanced gameplay system,” according to Square Enix. The game will feature Lightning as a solo playable character and allow her to freely roam a new world.

Other details regarding Lightning Returns are limited. We do know that the main story takes place hundreds of years after Final Fantasy XIII-2, set in a world called Novus Partus -- which is composed of four islands connected by monorail. The development team told IGN that three of the guiding pillars for the art direction in Lightning Returns are "gothic, mechanical and fantasy."

The most startling change to Lightning Returns comes in the form of the doomsday countdown. According to Square-Enix, the world will end after 13 days, and a massive clock will count down constantly in the corner of the screen to indicate this looming deadline. Any action players take, even taking the monorail from place to place, will spend time and hasten the end of days.

With Lightning as the only playable character, players will have unparalleled control over customizing her looks and combat style. The battle system itself, a greatly modified version of the previous two, will feature real-time elements including direct control of Lightning's movement and her attacks, as well as time-based moves that drain the doomsday counter. Lightning Returns will also include a real-time block system, designed to make battles much more active and time-based. Even dying mid-battle will activate a prompt to give players the choice to rewind their mistakes at the expense of the timer.

Lightning Returns was announced at today’s Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event, which Square Enix has been teasing since last month. In early July, Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama hinted at the project, which entered production at the beginning of August, followed shortly by a teaser site.

Square Enix confirmed that Lightning Returns will be the final chapter of Lightning’s saga, which began in Final Fantasy XIII back in 2010. Lightning’s sister Serah was the focus of Final Fantasy XIII-2, which hit stores earlier this year and received downloadable content that continued Lightning’s story.

No other details have been announced, but be sure to check out Square Enix’s official Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII site for more updates as they’re revealed.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. He spent 100 hours playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Assassin’s Creed: The Chain Review

The writer/artist duo of Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl caught lightning in a bottle with the first Assassin’s Creed comic series, The Fall. It’s exceptionally rare to find a comic based off a video game that’s not only tolerable, but great. Yet, somehow Stewart and Kerschl were able to perform that miracle, offering up a comic series that catered to both the hardcore Assassin’s Creed crowd and newcomers alike with a set of engaging characters occupying a fantastical world that’s worth diving into headfirst like it’s a pile of hay.

Now, Stewart and Kerschl have returned for a follow-up book called The Chain, which is a direct sequel to The Fall and continues the adventures of assassin Nikolai Orelov in early 1900s Russia and Templar Daniel Cross in modern times. The most interesting aspect of The Chain is that it inverts the dynamics between our lead characters and the people who surround them. Whereas in The Fall, Orelov was shown as a man surrounded by people who loved him and Cross was cast as the loner with no one to turn to, The Chain displays Orelov as the man now on his own and on the run while Cross is treated as sort of a messiah figure for the rest of the Templar order to aspire to. It’s an engaging dynamic shift that puts into perspective how important the people around you are in shaping what kind of person you turn out to be.

But while Daniel Cross might be showered with praise at every turn, The Chain is very much a tragedy on all accounts. This is a story that covers the severing of a family and a man who is truly lost and struggling to find his identity. For Assassin’s Creed fans, these themes are nothing new, but Stewart and Kerschl wrap them in a package that feels fresh while still adding to the overall mythology of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Newcomers to the book should also be able to step away satisfied with the story at hand, even if they aren’t diehard Assassin’s Creed fans. The themes, morals, and delicate character work on display from Stewart and Kerschl are what make this story worth experiencing, not just that it’s tied to the lore of Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin's Creed Returns to Comics

From a visual point of view, The Chain looks just as gorgeous as The Fall before it. Both Stewart and Kerschl share art duties here, and the final results are quite breathtaking. It’s clear both artists gave everything they had to this project and therefore every page is a beauty to ogle over. The art of The Chain is dynamic, expressive, and a great complement to the story at hand, capturing the energetic highs of the book’s actions sequences and the depressing lows of a family being torn apart.

The one area of The Chain that might irk some is the very subdued finale. The book doesn’t conclude on an explosive high note, but instead chooses to end on a quiet moment to drive home its point. I’ll be honest, I read the book’s final few panels and flipped the page fully expecting more story. Denied. The Chain just kind of stops, leaving the reader to his thoughts about the true intention of the book’s final scene. If you like experiencing fiction that leaves you with a carrot on a stick to chew on far after you’ve finished it, then The Chain’s ending should satisfy. But if you want a definitive stamp on these characters, you’re not going to get it here.

The Chain is absolutely a worthy follow-up to The Fall. Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl have done a fantastic job grooming these characters in the vast Assassin’s Creed universe. Better yet, like The Fall before it, both Assassin’s Creed fanatics and newcomers can enjoy The Chain. Whether you fall into the former or the latter camp, The Chain offers a great narrative, engaging characters and beautiful art worth buying into.

You can order a copy of Assassin’s Creed: The Chain through Ubisoft’s Ubi Workshop online store.

Erik is a writer for IGN's Comics channel and co-host of the IGN Assemble! podcast. You can follow Erik on Twitter, or find him here at IGN. Fair warning: prepare for suspect shenanigans.

Source : ign[dot]com